The present invention relates to a garbage disposer. More particularly, the present invention relates to a garbage disposer handily used for deodorizing and drying garbage generated in the kitchen of a common home, restaurant, school or hospital.
Conventionally, there is provided a garbage disposer by which garbage is dried so that it can be prevented from decaying and deodorized for the prevention of an offensive smell generated in the process of disposing the garbage. In general, this garbage disposer is composed in such a manner that steam generated in the process of heating the garbage is deodorized and discharged outside the garbage disposer.
For example, the Unexamined Japanese Patent Application Publication No. Hei 5-146773 discloses a garbage heating and drying device, which is composed as follows. There is provided a rotary container made of heat insulating material into which garbage is charged. While the rotary container is inclined and rotated, garbage in the rotary container is heated. Steam generated from garbage is guided into a condensing section communicated with the atmosphere. When steam is condensed in the condensing section, garbage is dried.
According to the garbage heating and drying device disclosed in the Unexamined Japanese Patent Application Publication No. Hei 5-146773, garbage is heated while the rotary container, which is inclined, is being rotated. Therefore, no garbage is locally heated, and it is possible to reduce the generation of an offensive smell caused by thermal decomposition of garbage.
However, the garbage heating and drying device disclosed in the above patent publication has the following disadvantages. Since garbage is dried in the atmospheric pressure in the above the garbage heating and drying device, it is necessary to raise the drying temperature so that garbage can be dried in a short period of time. Therefore, the energy cost is increased. Further, when the garbage heating and drying device is used in a room, the room temperature is raised by heat generated from the heat source of the device. Furthermore, in order to prevent garbage from heating locally, it is necessary to provide a rotating mechanism for rotating the rotary container. Accordingly, the device becomes complicated.
Garbage is mainly produced in the kitchen. Therefore, it is convenient to arrange and use a garbage disposer in- the kitchen. However, when the garbage disposer is arranged in the kitchen, various problems are caused and the environment is deteriorated in the kitchen, for example, an offensive smell leaks and humidity in the kitchen is raised when steam is discharged from the garbage disposer, and further temperature in the kitchen is raised by the influence of a heat source incorporated into the garbage disposer. For the above reasons, it is difficult to arrange the garbage disposer in the kitchen. Therefore, the present applicant previously proposed an invention of a garbage disposer characterized as follows. The garbage disposer includes a heating chamber for heating garbage and a condensing chamber for cooling and condensing steam. A space, which communicates the heating chamber with the condensing chamber, is tightly closed under the condition that air is purged from this space by steam generated when garbage is heated. Pressure in this tightly closed space is made negative by increasing a quantity of condensed water, so that garbage can be dried. When the above arrangement is adopted, it is possible to prevent an offensive smell from leaking out from a gap between the cover and the seal by the effect of negative pressure, and at the same time the boiling point can be lowered and an intensity of energy necessary for heating garbage can be decreased. Further, when offensive smell components generated from garbage are discharged into a drainpipe together with condensed water, the offensive smell and steam are not discharged from the garbage disposer. Therefore, this type garbage disposer can be used in the kitchen.
According to the above arrangement, since air is pushed out from the space by the action of steam, gas filling the space is mainly composed of steam. Due to the foregoing, a coefficient of volumetric contraction can be enhanced when gas is cooled in the condensing chamber. Accordingly, steam generated in the heating chamber can be made to flow into the condensing chamber smoothly. However, from an actual view point, it is difficult to enhance the degree of vacuum because the handling and the structure become complicated and further the equipment cost is raised. Therefore, it is considered that a considerably large quantity of air still exists in the tightly closed space. Accordingly, air remains as it is in the condensing chamber after cooling. The thus remaining air obstructs the flow of steam from the heating chamber into the condensing chamber. Consequently, the steam generating efficiency in the heating chamber is deteriorated. As a result, it is impossible to provide a high drying performance.
In the arrangement described above, the following problems may be encountered. It is important to effectively condense steam generated from garbage. However, in order to enhance the cooling efficiency, the above arrangement has a cooling structure for cooling steam by sending a blast of air from a fan arranged outside. Therefore, the cooling structure becomes complicated and the equipment cost is raised.